KWHB

KWHB is a full-power television station serving Tulsa, Oklahoma, and surrounding communities. Broadcasting on channel 47, the station operates as a Christian and family-oriented outlet and is owned by the Christian Television Network (CTN). Its studios are in Broken Arrow, while its transmission facilities are associated with the CityPlex Towers south of Oral Roberts University in Tulsa. The station originated in a long and complicated licensing process for a noncommercial UHF allocation. Religious organizations connected with evangelist Billy James Hargis sought the construction permit during the late 1970s and early 1980s, while another applicant also contested the frequency. After several proposed ownership arrangements, the permit eventually reached Coit Drapery and Cleaners, Inc. The station signed on June 3, 1985, as KTCT, operating as a religious independent station. Its early schedule relied heavily on Christian programming supplied through satellite services and on programs from prominent American televangelists. Financial difficulties soon led to a shortened broadcast schedule and prompted the owners to seek a buyer from the religious broadcasting sector. LeSEA Evangelistic Ministries acquired the station in 1986 for a reported $3.4 million. After the transaction was completed, the station adopted the call letters KWHB, derived from World Harvest Broadcasting. Under LeSEA, it broadened its schedule beyond ministry content, adding family-friendly syndicated entertainment, cartoons, movies, sports, and locally produced religious and public-affairs programs. This created a hybrid identity: KWHB remained explicitly Christian in ownership and much of its programming, but it also sought a wider audience and advertising revenue through secular content. KWHB briefly affiliated with The WB beginning in 1995. The relationship was limited because the station declined to carry programs that conflicted with its conservative content standards, replacing some network programs with religious or syndicated material. The arrangement became increasingly unsuitable for The WB, and a different Tulsa-market station assumed the network affiliation in 1999. KWHB subsequently continued as an independent station with a mixture of syndicated entertainment and ministry programming. The station also experienced technical, regulatory, and operational developments. It became available on Tulsa-area cable systems in the early 1990s, expanding its reach beyond over-the-air viewers. In 1998, the Federal Communications Commission proposed and imposed a fine connected with advertising-time violations during children's programming. Severe Oklahoma storms and lightning damaged transmission equipment in 1999, temporarily taking the over-the-air signal off the air while repairs were made. KWHB moved its studio operations to a new Tulsa facility in 2001. During the 2010s, the balance between religious and secular material shifted. By 2012, religious programs occupied defined morning, prime-time, overnight, and Sunday periods, while secular programs filled selected weekday and weekend blocks. In September 2017, the station was repositioned more clearly as a family-oriented entertainment outlet, with reruns, westerns, court programs, lifestyle shows, and other syndicated fare forming more than half of the schedule; Christian programming remained important, especially on weekday mornings and Sundays. Family Broadcasting Corporation announced a sale of KWHB to Christian Television Corp., associated with the Christian Television Network, in 2019. The station is now identified with CTN's religious broadcasting network while continuing to serve the Tulsa market under the KWHB call sign.

KWHB's history began with a contested FCC allocation for noncommercial UHF channel 47 in Tulsa. The David Livingstone Missionary Foundation filed an application in 1978, followed by Alden Communications Corporation. The FCC selected the Livingstone-related applicant in 1979, and the permit process continued through hearings and proposed consolidation. The permit was later associated with Church of Christian Crusade, Inc., which sought several possible call signs and ownership structures. A proposed transfer of an 85 percent interest to Oral Roberts University received FCC approval in 1984, but ORU withdrew. The permit was then proposed for transfer to Television Communications Inc., controlled by local minister Jack Rehburg, but that arrangement also failed. Coit Drapery and Cleaners, Inc. ultimately acquired the permit and launched channel 47 on June 3, 1985, as KTCT. The new station operated from southeastern Tulsa and relied chiefly on Christian programming, including satellite-delivered ministry shows and programs by nationally known evangelists. Its financial position was weak, and its daily schedule was reduced to roughly six hours during its first year. This made a sale to an established religious broadcaster increasingly likely. LeSEA Evangelistic Ministries bought the station in 1986. Once the purchase was completed, the new owner changed the call letters to KWHB, reflecting the World Harvest Broadcasting identity used by LeSEA. The schedule initially retained Christian material but gradually added family-oriented secular programming. During the late 1980s and 1990s, KWHB carried syndicated sitcoms, westerns, animated series, movies, sports, and local programs alongside ministry content. It also produced programs such as 47 Family Magazine and several religious or Bible-teaching shows; some productions were distributed to other stations in the LeSEA organization or to broadcasters in the region. Cable carriage expanded KWHB's Tulsa-area audience during the 1990s. The station also accepted a partial affiliation with The WB in 1995. Because LeSEA applied strict standards to secular programming, KWHB did not clear every WB program. The arrangement became untenable after the market lost easy access to the WGN superstation feed, which had previously supplied some preempted WB programming. The WB affiliation moved to another local station in 1999. KWHB faced a major transmission interruption in May 1999 after lightning associated with severe Oklahoma storms damaged equipment at its Coweta transmitter facility. Engineers replaced damaged transmission lines and restored the over-the-air signal later that month. In 2001, the station moved its studios to a new Tulsa location. The station's programming strategy continued to evolve. In the early 2010s it maintained a mixed schedule, with secular programs concentrated in afternoon and early evening periods and religious content prominent in mornings, prime time, overnight hours, and Sundays. In 2017, following similar changes at other LeSEA stations, KWHB adopted a more explicitly family-entertainment-oriented schedule. Reruns, westerns, court shows, lifestyle programs, and other syndicated content became the majority of its weekday schedule, while ministry programs remained concentrated in selected blocks. In 2018, LeSEA's operating organization was renamed Family Broadcasting Corporation. Family Broadcasting announced the sale of KWHB to Christian Television Corp. in October 2019, aligning the station with Christian Television Network ownership.

• 2019

  Sale to Christian Television Network affiliate owner announced

  [1]KWHBen.wikipedia.org

  Family Broadcasting Corporation announces the planned sale of KWHB to Christian Television Corp.

• 2017

  Family-entertainment repositioning

  [1]KWHBen.wikipedia.org

  The station shifts toward a schedule dominated by syndicated family entertainment while retaining religious blocks.

• 2001

  Studio relocation

  [1]KWHBen.wikipedia.org

  KWHB moves its studio operations to a new Tulsa facility.

• 1999

  Transmission outage and WB departure

  [1]KWHBen.wikipedia.org

  Lightning damage temporarily interrupts the station's over-the-air signal, while its WB affiliation moves to another market station later in the year.

• 1995

  The WB affiliation begins

  [1]KWHBen.wikipedia.org

  KWHB becomes a selective, part-time affiliate of The WB.

• 1993

  Cable distribution expands

  [1]KWHBen.wikipedia.org

  TCI begins carrying KWHB in the Tulsa area, broadening its distribution to cable households.

• 1986

  KWHB identity introduced

  [1]KWHBen.wikipedia.org

  LeSEA Evangelistic Ministries completes its acquisition and changes the station's call letters to KWHB.

• 1985

  KTCT launches

  [1]KWHBen.wikipedia.org

  Channel 47 begins broadcasting on June 3 as KTCT, initially as a religious independent station.

• 1979

  FCC selects Livingstone-related applicant

  [1]KWHBen.wikipedia.org

  The FCC grants the license to the Livingstone Missionary Foundation after competing applications for the frequency.

• 1978

  Initial construction-permit application

  [1]KWHBen.wikipedia.org

  The David Livingstone Missionary Foundation applies to build a new television station on Tulsa's noncommercial UHF channel 47 allocation.

A Tulsa-market broadcast station positioned between Christian ministry television and family-oriented general entertainment, with a schedule shaped by religious ownership, content standards, syndicated programming, and local service.

• Broadcast television · 1985

  KWHB channel 47 broadcast service

  The station's primary offering is its over-the-air television service for Tulsa and northeastern Oklahoma. It also reaches viewers through cable and other television distribution systems, combining locally scheduled programming with syndicated and network-supplied content.

• Religious television · 1985

  Christian and ministry programming

  KWHB carries Christian teaching, worship, evangelistic, and ministry programs. Religious content has remained central to the station's identity, although its scheduling position has changed over time as the station added and later expanded family-oriented secular entertainment.

• Syndicated television · 1987

  Family-oriented syndicated entertainment

  The station schedules syndicated sitcoms, dramas, westerns, court shows, lifestyle programs, animation, movies, and other general-entertainment material selected to fit a family-oriented presentation. This programming became the majority of the schedule after the 2017 repositioning.

• Local television programming · 1990

  Local productions

  KWHB has produced local public-affairs and ministry programs, including 47 Family Magazine and religious teaching programs. Some shows were distributed beyond the Tulsa station through LeSEA's broadcasting network.

• 1998

  Children's programming advertising-time violations

  The FCC fined KWHB and LeSEA Broadcasting after finding that commercial segments exceeded Children's Television Act limits on 47 occasions between July 1996 and December 1997. The station attributed the overages to inadvertence and a computer error, but the FCC did not accept that explanation as sufficient.

  Source

Read more

• 2019

  Sale to Christian Television Corp.M&A

  Background

  Family Broadcasting Corporation announced a change in ownership for the Tulsa station.

  Action taken

  Family Broadcasting Corporation announced an agreement to sell KWHB to Christian Television Corp., associated with Christian Television Network.

  Aftermath

  KWHB became associated with CTN ownership while continuing to operate as a Tulsa-market television station.

  Source

• 2017

  Shift toward family entertainmentStrategy

  Background

  LeSEA stations were adjusting their schedules to give greater prominence to secular programming while preserving religious ownership and selected ministry blocks.

  Action taken

  KWHB made syndicated sitcoms, dramas, westerns, court programs, and lifestyle shows the majority of its schedule, leaving religious programming concentrated in mornings and Sundays.

  Aftermath

  The station became more clearly positioned as a family-oriented entertainment outlet rather than a predominantly religious independent station.

  Source

• 1995

  Selective WB affiliationStrategy

  Background

  KWHB sought broader general-audience reach while remaining under LeSEA's religious programming standards.

  Action taken

  The station affiliated with The WB but declined to carry some programs considered inconsistent with its content policies.

  Aftermath

  The network ultimately moved its Tulsa affiliation to another station in 1999.

  Source

1. 1KWHBen.wikipedia.org
2. 2KWHB official websitekwhb.com